'FarmHer' sheds a light on what roles women play in farming

Marji Guyler-Alaniz is the star of RFD-TV's "FarmHer." (Courtesy)

Marji Guyler-Alaniz was sick of people assuming all farmers must be men. The RFD-TV star was inspired to create "FarmHer," a photography project and TV show which features women who play a variety of roles in the world of farming and agriculture. Now in Season 2, Guyler-Alaniz spoke to Fox News about the important role women play in farming.

Fox News: What inspired you to start "FarmHer?"
Marji Guyler-Alaniz: I had recently left my career in corporate agriculture, and I saw a commercial on during the Super Bowl in 2013, and I loved the commercial at the time. Nothing struck me as odd about it. It was a truck commercial filled with beautiful images of farmers and ranchers in the U.S. A couple of weeks later, I read an article in our newspaper here that while that was an amazing commercial, there weren't enough women in it. Then I realized, that's so. What kind of spurred in me was, "OK, this needs to change." And I started a photography project called "FarmHer" and my goal was to show people that women are a part of growing food.

Fox News: Why is it important to you to shed light specifically on female farmers?
Guyler-Alaniz: At first, I just thought this matters as a woman to know that there are women in these strong roles out there. It's something that affects all of us every day [because] they raise the food we eat. When I first started that's really what drove me and over the years as it's grown and changed, I've come to realize that how we show women who are a part of agriculture and farming today, has an effect on young women in the next generation. We need people involved in growing food and growing livestock. [I hope] young women see their opportunity to move forward in agriculture as well.

Fox News: How did you turn "FarmHer" from a photography project into a TV show?
Guyler-Alaniz: I got a call from RFD-TV at the right time. I love "FarmHer" and I wanted to find ways to keep doing it. It was a lot of work and it was just me and wasn't making enough money to really grow at that point...I get this call from RFD-TV out of the blue. We met and talked and it took a little convincing. But we figured out how we could take my photography and turn it into a TV show but we did it.

Fox News: Was there one stand out story from your show that you'd like to share?
Guyler-Alaniz: Barbara Mazurek, she's a woman in her 80s from Texas and she has raised livestock her entire life but her husband was killed 30 years ago or so on their farm. The strength and grit and the willpower she has to get up and move forward to go out and feed those animals the next day. Whenever I  think I'm having a bad day, I think about her. Her husband was killed [in a machinery accident] and she had to grieve over that while still feeding those animals. It gives you a whole different level of appreciation [of farming]. It can be long hours, it can be tiring, it can be unsafe but there's so much strength in it.

Fox News: What do you hope people walk away with after watching "FarmHer?"
Guyler-Alaniz: For people, especially those who may not be involved in agriculture, they don't realize all the different roles a woman might play on a farm. You think about a farm wife, and sure they're also the farm wife, but they're also the "FarmHer," the business manager...there's so many different parts and pieces to these women. And while agriculture is the common thread among these women, they're people just like you and me and are strong.

"FarmHer" airs Friday nights RFD-TV.